County fire authorities and others believe they have found the cause of a fire that badly damaged a McDuffie County business.
On Dec. 27, fire swept through the rear section of the nearly 4,400 square foot building at 1758 Washington Road, the former home of Langham’s Clothes Corner Outlet., and later, Weathervane Antiques.
Stephen Sewell, assistant chief for McDuffie County Fire Rescue, said Friday that pictures taken by The McDuffie Progress had helped authorities understand the cause of the blaze that could be seen for several miles.
“The pictures helped us narrow down the actual area of origin,” said Sewell. “That picture kind of stopped the moment. We saw things in the pictures that we did not see on scene since we were worried about putting the fire out, personnel available, extending hose, water supply, safety, crowd control and so forth.”

To read more on this story, see the Thurs., Jan. 23, edition of The McDuffie Progress.